I Belong To You
by letsgojamming
Summary: The years after East High. Life after Love Hurts. Things haven't turned out the way they should have,Gabriella’s life starts to fall apart,Who will save her?...Will Troy becomes her saviour.Troyella[Sharpay plays a good role in this story...Great BFF!] R
1. AN and summary

High school Musical!

Sorry!

Sorry!

Sorry!

Sorry!

Sorry!

Sorry!

One of my fireds deleted all the chapters... jealous?? I think sooo...

but its ok i wrote it down before i typed it up anyway! so her evil plan did not work ! hahaha!!...so i have been typing like mad! just give me time please to get me back to where i was! ... and one more thing sorry for not updating in yearssss i turned into a busy bee! the only reason updating now is because i pulled a sivky did the whole "Mummy, i don't feel weel [ " lol

ON WITH THE STORY!

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Summary!

The years at East High are NO more

The wildeCats Have left the Den!

NO more College

Life after True Love.

Have your own life now.

Things haven't turned out the way they should have!

Gabriella's life starts to fall apart!

Who will save her??

After all everyone has their own lives to live!

who will be her saviour??

Minor Chadpay

A Troyella twist!

??? Will I continue ???

Review!

Lisa!x x


	2. Chapter 1

Heyaaa!

Heres Chapter one!

i'm think i will be at least up to Chapter 5 by tomorrow!...depends on Reviews thou!

Sorry again!

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CHAPTER 1

Oh no. It was on its way. Again. Gabriella felt sick of feeling sick and throwing up. This had been going on for over a week now and she was tired of it. Gabriella ran over to the toilet and let it come out. After a few minutes had passed, she slowly walked over to the sink and washed up. She had to hurry now. If Eric couldn't use the bathroom in time, he would become aggressive again, and she was even more tired of crying and fighting than of throwing up.

Gabriella looked at herself in the mirror. 'What happened to me?', she thought. Her face was pale, obviously from being afraid of being beaten by Eric all the time. At the beginning, she thought that it maybe would stop again, that he had a few bad days at work. But the beating became more and more regular, like when she wasn't home in time, when she didn't do what he said or if she even dared to disagree with him or confront him with the fact that he was with a different woman almost every night.And now she was carrying his child, which was probably the most terrible thing that could have happened, since Eric told her over and over again not to forget birth control. He didn't want any children, they meant too much responsibility to him.

The day Gabriella found out about her pregnancy she felt like the whole world came crushing down on her. Just the mere imagination of how Eric would react scared her to death. She was convinced that if Eric ever found out about the baby, he would have his worst rage attack ever.

There wasn't a day that passed without the sweet thought of running away. But who could she run to? Her mother was God-knows-where in Europe, living the 'dolce vita' and not caring a bit about what was going on with her only child. Her step-mother had been sent off to psychiatry after years and years of abusing painkillers and anti-depressants, and her father died in a car crash the year after her graduation from college. And then she even lost Troy, the only boy she had ever loved in her whole life, because of a stupid mistake she made. She didn't't even love Eric when she had the one-night-stand with him, it was just the excitement of something totally new that made her cheat on Troy. She never regretted anything more in her whole life. But on the other hand, she never was more thankful that Troy finally managed to forgive her, and that the two of them were now best friends once again. But even if she had the bestest friends in the world, Gabriella stood in front of the mirror and felt completely alone. She never told anyone about what happened at home, after three years of living with Eric, she was the master of making up silly excuses or denial when she was asked what was wrong with her. She was just too ashamed to admit to anyone that she let a thing like that happen to her. But after what had happened last night, when Eric gave her a bruised lip because she forgot to bring him his beer, it should be really difficult to hide it from the others that she was beaten. He had never hit her in the face before, so they were approaching a new level. Absently, Gabriella wiped away the tears that had come running down her cheeks and threw the thought of leaving Eric away. She didn't't have the courage to do it, because then, he might really kill her.

"What takes you so long in there?" Eric's angry voice sounded through the door, and Gabriella quickly finished washing up, trying to cover her bruised lip from last night with some makeup, managed a smile and stepped out of the door in the sleeping room, where Eric sat on the edge of the bed, with the typical gaze he had when he was about to do it again. Gabriella's heart pounded like crazy when Eric stood up and came towards her. Surprisingly, he gave her a fat, smacking kiss on the lips that made Gabriella feel sick all the way again. "I'm going to be late for work, honey," he snarled and went into the bathroom. Honey. Gabriella disgusted that word. Who was she kidding? She disgusted Eric, she disgusted her life and now, being pregnant, she was trapped. "Jackass," she mumbled and put on her clothes, her mood lighting up a bit by the thought that she was off to work in five minutes or so.

Gabriella gave herself a final check in the bedroom mirror. Again, she looked terrible, but she didn't even care. The most important thing was that nobody saw her bruised lip, and she had managed to make it disappear the best she could. Quickly, Gabriella grabbed her purse and keys, and shouted through the room, "I'm leaving for work now!" She heard Eric turning the shower off and was afraid that she again had done something wrong. "Take care and be home at seven!", he yelled. Without answering, Gabriella left living hell and ran off into a day of short freedom.

Troy sat on his huge brown desk in his office, trying to get the article done he should have been doing last night when he came home. His eyes went to the photo on his desk. It showed Madison Baker, his cute blonde girlfriend he had been living together now for two and a half years, who was the reason that he didn't finish the article. Troy didn't remember a night in the last week when the both of them didn't fight, mostly about the fact why Troy worked so much and neglected Madison for it.

Troy's eyes wandered to another picture he had on his desk, showing him, Gabriella, Chad and Sharpay on their college graduation day. He stared at Gabriella for a long time, recalling how she urgently pleaded him to let her leave work yesterday a little sooner. In his mind, Troy compared the Gabriella on the picture with the Gabriella she had been since the day college ended. Her happiness had almost completely disappeared and she always had a look of fear in her face. Gabriella looked very unhappy, and worst of all, she always denied that she had problems when someone asked her what was wrong. Troy didn't want to admit it, but he still cared a lot about Gabriella. Forgiving her for cheating on him had been one of the hardest things he had ever done, but now she had become the most important person in his life. And knowing that she was hiding something made him crazy. But so far, it hadn't been evident what her problem was.

The ringing of the phone woke Troy up from his daydreaming.

"Bolton Classic, Troy Bolton speaking," he answered in his most professional voice.

"Hey, sweetie, it's me!" Madison practically sung the words into the receiver, which made Troy feel guilty, recalling that he just had made Gabriella the most important person in his life.

Troy cleared his throat and sat up straight. "Hey, Maddy, how's it going?"

"Just great. Sharpay and I just received the first pieces of our new winter collection, and it's just awesome! I tell you, Sharpay is the best designer in the country. No, probably on the planet!"

She sounded very happy, and Troy smiled. Since Madison and Sharpay had opened their own fashion store, he had to hear almost every night how great Sharpay was, and how talented and so on. In his opinion, the clothes the both of them purchased just didn't go along with his style, which was the reason why he had never bought something from them.

"I bet the clothes don't go with my Jew-fro, like they never do," he said simply, teasing Madison a little.

She laughed. "Yeah, well, no one has such a special taste than you… Listen, I have to go now, I just wanted to remind you that we have dinner reservations at seven tonight. Don't be too late again!"

Before Troy could answer, Madison had hung up.

Sighing, he turned his attention to the computer, when he saw Gabriella standing in the doorway, looking worse than any other day this week. She had a weird bruise on her lip, which she obviously tried to hide underneath a thick layer of make-up. Troy felt sick imagining what might have happened the night before. He stood up and came towards her.

Gabriella saw the concerned look on Troy's face and quickly gave him a huge smile. "Good morning, Bolton!", she chimed. Troy stopped on his way over to her. He knew that reaction only too well. Once again, Gabriella tried to deny that something was going on.

"Morning. You okay? What happened to your lip?", Troy asked, examining her beautiful face.

Gabriella smiled broadly. "Oh, nothing," she struggled a moment to find her words, "I fell. Stupid me. Had one of my rage blackouts, and bang!" Gabriella laughed insecurely. She paused a moment to see if he was believing her.

"Listen, I just wanted to ask how many copies of ' NBA special ' should be put on the next edition. The publisher called yesterday and I forgot to ask you then."

Never in a million years Gabriella would have thought that she actually would work for a Sports magazine Company, let alone for Troy Bolton, but right after college, when her whole world started to fall apart, and she didn't know where to turn, Troy took her in as one of his assistants, and since that day Gabriella officially worked in Sports magazine business.

"Those sports cravers totally freaking me out.", she joked, trying her best to hide her feelings.

Troy could take a hint when it was given to him. "Tell them we'll go with another 7,000 copies." Sometimes, the success of his Sports Magazine Company was unbelievable to him.

"Great." And with that, Gabriella left the room.

For a few moments Troy stood in the doorway and looked after Gabriella until she was around the corner and out of sight. Lost in thought, he strolled back to his desk, to finally finish the article on a review of the Lakers performance.

please Review!


	3. Chapter 2

High school Musical!

Hey some one left a comment saying it sounds fimilar!

i maybe didn't explain my-self ver clearly...but the chapters in my story got deleted not the whole story...very strange!

so that is prob why it sounds fimilar because I had already posted this in March so i'm just re posting it so I can finish the story!

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Chapter 2

During her lunch break, Gabriella went over the street to Sharpay's fashion store, "The Evan". After having a very stressful week, Sharpay agreed to have lunch with her best friend today. They didn't see each other very often these days, so that was the least she could do. And above all, Sharpay sensed that something weird was going on with Gabriella for some time now, and she made it her aim to find out what was bothering her.

When Gabriella entered the store, she saw Madison Baker, Troy's girlfriend, standing behind the counter, looking through some of the store's orders. The tall blonde was so focused on her work that she didn't hear Gabriella coming in. Only when Gabriella cleared her throat, she looked up and smiled at her.

"Hey, Gabriella," she greeted her friendly. "You looking for Sharpay?"

Gabriella smiled back. "Yeah, we were supposed to have lunch together," Gabriella answered. She didn't really know how to feel about Madison. On the one hand, she was a real kind and sweet person, on the other hand Gabriella had the slight feeling that Madison didn't like her, and she could only guess why. Madison knew that Gabriella had always been Troy's first and probably one love, and the two of them working together seemed not to make her happy.

Just when Madison was about to go and get Sharpay, she entered the room from the repository.

First she waved at Gabriella, and when she saw what happened to her lip, her smile froze. "Hey, Gabi," she said, a concerned look on her face. "What happened to…"

"My lip? Yeah, I guess I was too hungry at breakfast," Gabriella lied, laughing insecurely. „So, Shar, are you ready to go?"

Sharpay nodded and told Madison that she'd be back in one hour.

The two girls had lunch at their favorite café, "The Bluebird", which was only five minutes away from Sharpay's fashion store.

Being with Sharpay made Gabriella always feel like she was seventeen again, when they had had the best days of their lives. When she was with her best friend, Gabriella could almost forget what a mess her life really was.

Right after their general chatter, they went on to their boyfriends. Or at least Sharpay did.

She picked in her salad with her fork, a dreamy look in her eyes. "I can't believe he has been away for only two days," she complained, "to me, it feels like an eternity."

Gabriella smiled. "Well, he makes good money, and he'll be back sooner than you want him to be," she joked.

Chad worked as an assistant for an architectural office in New Mexico, the 'heir' of the New Mexico Group Lucy(Troy's mum) had put up after David's ( Troy's Grand father) death. And since Chad's career was just getting started, Sharpay and he didn't see much of each other those days. While the two friends were having lunch, Chad supervised a project in Boston and wasn't expected back for at least three more weeks.

Gabriella admired Chad and Sharpay for having managed to stay together as a couple since their Senior Year at High School. (Jsut a bit of random Chadpay, i don't know why? Lol)

'And once again', she thought, 'if it wasn't for Eric, Troy and I would be still together, too.'

Sharpay sighed again and awoke Gabriella from her daydreaming. "I know," she sadly said. "Well, at least I have you," Sharpay added with a smirk in Gabriella's direction.

Gabriella smiled at her and nodded. She had to tell somebody about the baby. And she knew that if she didn't even have the courage to tell Sharpay, it was hopeless to think about telling Eric.

So she took a deep breath and started. "I'm pregnant," she said, without warning Sharpay that such a huge issue might come up now.

Sharpay just sat there, and her chin dropped. "You are?" she asked unbelievably. From the look on Gabriella's face she didn't know how to react. "Well, that's great, isn't it?"

For a moment, Gabriella was thinking about telling Sharpay everything. About her fears, and about how Eric treated her. But for some reason she decided to mimic the happy mother-to-be.

"Of course, it's fabulous!" she chimed. "Well, the morning sickness is always like… Ew! Plus, I am gonna look like a ton in no time", she added.

Shapay laughed. "Well, I bet your designer clothes won't fit for a long time!"

Gabriella giggled. "Why not? I'm awaiting the day that Chanel's finally gonna bring out a new collection for pregnants. Hey, isn't that sort of a gap in the market for your shop to fill in?"

Sharpay grinned at her. "You might be on to something," she said, "But now tell me: how far along are you? And how did Eric react? He's probably walking on cloud number nine right now, huh?"

Gabriella's gaze went to the floor. "I'm almost fourth month," she told her, "And Eric doesn't even know yet. And so doesn't anyone else."

Sharpay couldn't help but notice the look of desperation on Gabriella's face. She reached over to take Gabriella's hand. "Hey, Gabi, you okay? I mean, Eric's gonna be thrilled when he finds out, won't he?"

Again, the thought of telling Sharpay everything crossed Gabriella's mind. And again, she decided against telling her. She was afraid that everyone who was going to help her might be having the same problems with Eric that she had. And she didn't want to burden anyone with her problems.

"Well, I suppose," she answered. "But still, you have to promise me that you won't tell anybody, okay?" She started to search her handbag, pulled out a sonogram picture of her unborn baby, and handed it over to Sharpay.

Sharpay smiled when she saw the little something that was supposed to be a human being. "Is it a boy or a girl?", she wanted to know.

Gabriella smiled. "They don't know for sure, but from all the pictures they've taken so far they think it's gonna be a girl,", she said, this time sounding honestly happy.

"Gabi, as long as you are happy about it, I'm sure everything's gonna be just fine.", Sharpay said, trying to encourage her friend.

Gabriella nodded sadly. "Well, try and tell Eric that," she mumbled, on the one hand hoping Sharpay hadn't heard, on the other hand wishing she had. The latter was the case. Gabriella could tell from the questioning look on Sharpay's face.

But even before Sharpay could react, Gabriella threw a glance at her watch, decided that it was time to go back to work and didn't give her friend a chance to ask more questions.

When the girls arrived at "The Evan", Madison was still standing behind the counter, typing on her computer. Again, she looked up and smiled friendly at Sharpay and Gabriella.

"How was lunch?" she asked.

"Great!" Sharpay and Gabriella answered unison, which made them laugh.

"So, if you want to take your lunch break now, go ahead," Sharpay suggested to Madison.

"Oh, I can take a hint," Madison said, and smiling, like she always did, left the store for some food.

Sharpay went behind the counter and faced her friend. "Are you sure you are ok? You seem very upset." she said.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "God, Shar, what is it with you? I'm just tired. Pregnant stuff. Morning sickness. Mood swings. Get used to it."

Sharpay nodded. Gabriella could see that her mind was still working. "Hey, I just got the idea… what if we'd have a girl's night out? It seems we didn't have one since High School. Say, on Sunday?" she suggested.

Now Gabriella's mind was working. Could she go out without Eric noticing it? 'Well, when he goes off to see one of his whores, I could take a break,' she thought. Usually, it took Eric a couple of hours until he came back from the women he rented. And if she was home like half an hour earlier than him, she could pretend that she was already asleep when he came home.

"Sounds great!" she finally answered. "Are you picking me up? At say, eight?"

Sharpay smiled. "Sure. Looking forward to it!"

And after the two of them said their goodbyes, Gabriella was off to work again, leaving Sharpay with her mind working hard behind.


	4. Chapter 3

GUESS WHAT??

i own noting... [

and its nearly Christmas lmao!

**Chapter 3 **

Sharpay was not the only one who Gabriella had left thinking today. Troy still couldn't concentrate on his work, and if he was honest, he didn't want to. Through his glass door, he saw Gabriella entering the office, obviously just coming back from her lunch break with Sharpay.

That was it! After a short moment of being proud of himself, Troy dialled Sharpay's number. She had to know what was bothering her best friend, right?

After three ringings, the receiver was picked up. "Welcome to 'The Evan', fashion for everyone, you're speaking to Madison Baker," Madison sung into the receiver, trying to sound extra-friendly.

Troy couldn't help but smile at how exaggerated Madison sounded on the phone every time.

"Yeah, Troy Bolton speaking here," he started, "I was wondering if you also had Spiderman costumes in your product line. There's a lot of rain predicted and I don't want to get wet." Troy grinned to himself, again proud of the fabulous joke he just had made.

"Well, I guess you'd have to come by and see if we have anything that suits you… usually we don't have clothes for bean-poles, you know?"

Troy laughed. "No matter how hard you try, my dear, you're never gonna be as funny as I am. Hey, why I'm calling… is Sharpay there?"

Madison hesitated. "Yeah, but she's very busy… what do you want from her? I mean, can't I help you?", she asked.

"I guess not. I want to talk about Gabriella .", troy explained.

"Gabriella." Madison sounded mad. "Why, do you have a flashback to High School, does she start to ignore you again?", she snapped.

Troy lost his patience. It was always the same with Madison, she was jealous like hell, and when it came to Gabriella, it would have been the best for Troy not to mention her name at all in his girlfriend's presence.

"Oh, don't start that again, Maddy. Gabriella's one of my best friends, and I got the impression that she needs me, that's all."

"Fine. Don't forget, dinner at seven today."

With a pang, the receiver landed on the counter. Troy shook his head. He couldn't understand Madison's behavior. But on the other hand, she was a woman, so maybe that was the explanation.

After a few moments Sharpay picked up. "Troy?", she asked. "What's up?"

"I don't know, you tell me," Troy answered. "Did you have lunch with Gabriella today?"

"Yeah, I did, why?"

"Did you notice anything strange on her? Or did she tell you what was going on?"

Sharpay left the store where she had picked up the phone and went into her office, so Madison couldn't hear what was about to follow. "You mean her lip? She told me it was an accident, but I don't really believe her."

"So she made up an excuse. She did the same to me, and I bet to all the others here in the office as well."

Sharpay frowned. "Do you think Eric…. I mean, do you think he hurt her?", she asked carefully.

"Yeah, it's the only possibility. No one has such a stupid accident, falling over and bruising his lip like that."

"Exactly what I thought," Sharpay answered, "Only… did she tell you she fell? Because she told me she had bit herself at breakfast… but before I could react, she just cut me off and practically drove me out to lunch."

Troy shifted in his seat. "I'm quite worried about her, if she even didn't tell you what was going on.", he said, his mind working.

"Oh yeah, well… she told me something." Sharpay hesitated. "And maybe everything's better than it seems, and her situation's just a little too much for her." Sharpay didn't know if she should tell Troy about Gabriella's pregnancy, since she made her swear she wouldn't tell anyone.

"And are you going to tell me or should I just sit here and guess until I find out?", Troy said.

Sharpay hesitated. "Look, she told me not to tell anyone until she was ready. So just give her some time and you'll find out. But if that's any comfort for you, I'm going out with her on Sunday night, so maybe she'll tell me a little more about what's bothering her, ok?"

Troy felt anger rising. "This is so not ok! Why can't you just tell me? I'm worried about her, she's my best friend, and I want her to be happy!" he shouted, making the people passing by in front of his office look at him. He waved at them and smiled. "I'm sorry, I'm totally obsessed by 'The Valley', and I just found out that Carol cheated on John, so that's kind of a letdown."

Sharpay frowned. "Troy, what are you doing over there?" she asked, confused.

"Making those sports freaks minding their own business." He answered. "So you are not gonna tell me?"

Sharpay was uncomfortable. "I'm gonna call you on Sunday, when we are home, and I'll tell you if there's anything that should be bothering us, ok?"

Troy nodded. Realizing that Sharpay couldn't see him, he gave his ok and hung up. If nobody wanted to tell him now, all he could do was wait.

Wouldn't he be leaving at all tonight? It was seven thirty, and usually Eric went out at seven, and returned shortly after midnight. Gabriella was nervous. Eric mustn't find out that Sharpay was coming over, let alone that she was going to go out. She stood in the kitchen, washing the dishes, and glanced over to Eric, sitting on the couch in the living room, where he was watching some old cowboy movie, having his sixth or seventh beer tonight.

Seven thirty-two. She had to get him out of the house, and if that didn't work, she had to make up some silly excuse to Sharpay why she couldn't be going tonight. She looked down on her belly, which slightly started to become rounder every day. And she had to tell Eric about this. How could she have allowed that her life had become such a mess?

Finally, Eric stood up from the couch and came into the kitchen. Gabriella stared at him, waiting for him to say something. He had the prettiest green eyes she had ever seen. They were one of the reasons that made her do the terrible mistake of cheating on Troy years ago. Eric had been kind, sweet, and such a gentleman. Not even the strongest woman on the planet would have been able to resist him. He didn't hurt her all the time. It started when he lost his job as a journalist, something he had loved and been all passionate about. He had to get another job, and since he was working at the gas station, he seemed all changed and unhappy with his life. Worst of all, he let the frustration he had out on Gabriella. And now, if something didn't go the way he wanted, he became violent, because that gave him control about things.

"I'm off now," he said, putting his empty beer bottle beside her. "And I need more of these."

Gabriella nodded. What had happened to Eric? She had never seen a man more change in such a short time. He was threatening to kill her if she ever told somebody that he became violent sometimes. So she kept her mouth shut, partly because she hoped that some day, Eric might change and become his old self again.

When she heard the door closing, she quickly washed up the rest of the dishes and went into the bedroom to change. Her lip had lost its evidence, so just a little bit of powder might be able to hide it today.

She put on a nice blue dress, made her hair hang loose down her slim shoulders and put on a little touch of make-up. Just when she was finished, Sharpay blew her horn, to show her she was there. Gabriella smiled at herself in the mirror. "This is who I am", she said happily. Grabbing her purse, she left the house as fast as she could.

Just a few seconds later, Gabriella hopped into Sharpay's car. "Hey, Shar! So where are we going?"

Sharpay smiled. "I don't know, some place nice, where we can talk. Like, 'The Seven Eleven'?" she suggested.

"Sounds good to me", Gabriella agreed, and before she could put on her safety belt, the two girls were off in a night of girl fun and talk.


	5. Chapter 4

Please review!

Chapter 4 

Gabriella hadn't felt that good in a very long time. The two friends started their evening in their favorite bar for some coffee and non-alcoholic cocktails. After that, they went to the "Hot Tub", the club that was put into the old property of the "Bait Shop", which had to close down a few years ago. After a new owner had bought the property and had given it a new face, the club was the hippest scene in whole of new Mexico.

Sharpay and Gabriella talked about everything, and most of the time, they laughed even louder than the music was.

Suddenly, Gabriella saw Troy and Madison enter the club and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Sharpay noticed that and grinned.

"Hey, you are nervous when you see Troy enter the room! Do you have, like, a crush on him?", she asked, sounding very teasing.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "What,Shar? Oh my God, why are you saying a thing like that?", she said, blushing and punching her slightly in her arm. Sharpay had no idea how much she still loved Troy. How much she had always loved him.

Sharpay started to tease her friend even more, like she once had on the a party when they were sixteen. "You like him, you like him… you love him!" she sang, very content with herself at the moment.

Gabriella put a hand over Sharpay's mouth. "Shar, would you please shut up? Everyone can hear you, and you know how much I hate public confessions!"

Sharpay couldn't stop grinning. But at least she had stopped singing songs about puppy love. "Would you like me to climb on a table and shout it out loud that you love him? I mean, that's what he did twice, so I guess you don't mind if I try,", she giggled.

Gabriella looked quite embarrassed, and hoped Sharpay

wouldn't see what a deep red her face had become. She figured that it was better not to answer Sharpay,because then she would eventually become quiet again. Well, at least Troy and Madison had gone to another corner of the club, where they couldn't see them.

Finally, Sharpay became serious again. "Hey Gabi, but honestly, are you in love with him?"

Gabriella looked on the floor, around her, and did everything to avoid to look at Sharpay.

"Maybe," she answered, her gaze still searching for something she didn't quite know yet.

Sharpay's eyes widened twice their normal size. "You aren't!", she shouted, realizing that she had been too loud again. "I mean, I was just kidding before!"

Gabriella shrugged. "I wasn't," she answered, finally meeting Sharpay's gaze.

Sharpay did her best to take in what her best friend just had confessed to her. "But what about Eric? I mean, you're having his baby!" Sharpay was really confused at the moment.

Gabriella sighed. "Oh God, shar, do you really think I would have been together with Eric if I didn't make that stupid mistake that made Troy break up with me?"

Sharpay hesitated. "Well, I don't know. But… don't you think it's a little too late for such huge confessions?"

"Yeah, of course it is! Or why do you think I'm keeping my feelings for Troy a secret?", Gabriella replied.

"I'm sorry, Gabi," Sharpay apologized. "I can imagine that this might be pretty hard for you."

Gabriella nodded. "It is. I'd give anything to get out of my life and go back to who I was before college." She sighed and took a sip of her iced tea.

Sharpay frowned. "So, Gabi, is there anything else bothering you? You seem very confused and upset these days.", she asked, trying to find out what was really bothering her friend.

Gabriella shook her head. She still being in love with Troy had been enough confessing in one evening. "No, Shar, I'm fine."

Quickly, she changed the topic on Chad, which meant she'd have a little time in which she didn't have to speak at all, because once Sharpay started to talk about Chad, nothing could shut her up so soon.

Even though Sharpay had been shushed by Gabriella, their conversation before didn't remain unheard. Madison had been on her way to the toilet when she saw Sharpay and Gabriella sitting in two lounge chairs, deeply in a conversation.

First, Madison had decided to go over and say hi but as she heard the name Troy, she stopped and overheard the conversation. And she didn't like what she had heard. She didn't like it at all. At least her fear had been confirmed. Gabriella was still in love with Troy. And she was having Eric's baby? If Troy knew that?

One thing Madison knew for sure: she'd never be friendly to Gabriella ever again. Gabriella had been stupid enough to let Troy go, now she wouldn't get him back.

A few hours later, when Sharpay talked about her store and how things in the fashion industry were going, Gabriella glanced at her watch every ten seconds. If they didn't leave now, she would be home too late. And that meant that Eric was gonna become very angry at her. She couldn't wait until Sharpay was finished, so she just grabbed her at the arm and pulled her out of the chair. "Okay, Shar, let's go, I'm tired. Let's go home!"

And without Sharpay being able to resist, they made their way out of the "Hot Tub", Gabriella pulling Sharpay after her. At the exit, Sharpay's gaze met Troy's, who was still sitting at a table with Madison and some of their friends.

Troy gave Sharpay a look that asked if she found out anything.

Sharpay slightly shook her head, and made him understand she'd call him.

Troy nodded and payed back his attention to the conversation that was going on around him.

Madison noticed that Troy and Sharpay had been exchanging looks and gave Gabriella the maddest look she could manage. She would not give Troy away.

Gabriella did her best to rush Sharpay to bring her home without her best friend noticing. But sometimes Sharpay

could be really complicated to handle. So she had to stop at the gas station first, and then she had to go to a supermarket and buy some cheese sticks. Gabriella freaked out more and more as the minutes passed by.

When the two girls finally arrived at Gabriella's, it was already half past twelve. Gabriella didn't see any lights on in the house, so maybe Eric wouldn't be home yet, if she was lucky.

She quickly said goodbye to Sharpay and sneaked into the house. She went to the living room on tiptoes and was glad to see that everything looked like it did when she had left the house. That meant Eric wasn't home yet.

Unfortunately, Gabriella didn't check the back door and the kitchen, in which Eric was sitting, his dark gaze following Gabriella's moves. Just when Gabriella slumped down on the couch, and made herself comfortable, Eric's voice sent a shiver through her and made her jump up again. "So where have we been? Did you at least bring me my beer?", he asked, his voice sounding cold.

"I-I-I wanted… b-b-but the stores were already closed.", she stuttered.

Eric's eyes narrowed. "Why don't I believe you? What reasons do you have to sneak in like this? You are always home when I'm out! So where have you been?" He came closer to her, making her shiver.

Eric stood directly in front of her, a fact that made Gabriella seem even smaller than she already was. It also made her feel totally helpless, like a little kid standing in front of his father, praying not to be grounded this time.

Gabriella couldn't answer. She felt a knot tying in her stomach, which denied her any freedom of speech. She just stared onto the ground, hoping he would calm down.

"What's that silence? What do you have to hide, huh?" Suddenly, Eric grabbed Gabriella's wrists and squeezed them tightly. "Do you have a boyfriend? Huh? Do you have a lover?" Impatience sounded through his voice.

Gabriella winced. "Eric, please, you're hurting me… don't…"

"Don't tell me what to do or not! Why should I believe you? You've always been a cheater! You even cheated on that "superstar"Bolton with me!" His hands squeezed even tighter around Gabriella's wrists.

She could feel how her hands became cold, and the pain in her wrists increasing any second now. Gabriella started to cry. "Eric, I didn't…"

"Shut up, you…" Eric didn't say it, but she knew what word was on his mind. He gave her wrists a final squeeze of incredible strength and eventually let them go.

Gabriella ducked down, falling on the couch, hiding her face in her hands. Eric made his way out again, slamming the front door shut behind him.

When Gabriella was sure that Eric was really gone, she started to weep into the pillows, feeling like the loneliest person in the world.


	6. Chapter 5

High school Musical!

**I went to see Mcfly in concert the other day...so good **

Review!

Chapter 5

Madison and Troy sat at the breakfast table in their penthouse apartment which gave an amazing view over the

Beach both reading the morning newspapers, when the telephone rang.

Madison jumped up and smiled. "I'll get it, honey!"

Troy shrugged and turned his attention back to the newspaper.

"Hello, Madison Baker, " she identified herself at the phone.

"Hey, Maddy, it's me. Can I talk to Troy , please?" Sharpay was on the other end, wanting to tell Troy

what had happened last night. Or at least the things he needed to know.

"Hey, what is it about me, doesn't anyone want anything from me anymore?", Madison asked, making a pout.

Sharpy laughed. "Of course I do. But I'll see you at work, so I won't spoil any hot weekend details for us. I mean, what else are we gonna talk about during coffee break?", she joked.

Madison smiled. "You're right, I'll get him. What's it about?"

"Oh, just a little something about Gabriella, nothing spectacular." Sharpay tried to sound casual, not knowing that Madison had overheard hers and Gabriella 's conversation last night at the club.

"Gabriella?" Madison's brains were working now. Sharpay wouldn't dare telling Troy that Gabriella was still in love with him, right? Or what if she did? Why couldn't that small brunette finally get out of Troy's life? "Oh, you know what, I think he just left. Maybe you'll try him later."

Sharpay was sceptical. "But you just said that you'd get him. Since when does he leave without saying goodbye to you?"

"Well he did, I can't change it, okay? See you at work!"

And with that, Madison banged the receiver down.

Gabriella wasn't Troy's business anymore.

When Madison returned, Troy was already standing in the doorway, ready to leave for work.

"Who was it?" he wanted to know.

Madison shrugged. „Wrong number or something. Too stupid to read the phone book."

Troy nodded. "Okay, so I'm gonna be off now… are you sure it was a wrong number? You had a very long conversation for a wrong number."

"Yeah it was. Why is it even bothering you?", Madison snapped.

Troy held up his hands in apologize. "Geez, what is it with you these days? You know what, calm down, and I'll go now." With those words, Troy left Madison in the kitchen, burning out of anger.

When Troy was in his car, he turned on his headsets and dialed Sharpay's cellphone number.

After Sharpay had picked up, he asked: "Did you just call at my house?"

"Hey Troy, good morning to you, too. Yeah I did, Maddy told me you were already off for work."

Troy sighed. "Well, I wasn't. You know, Madison's extremely jealous, especially when it comes to Gabriella .", he explained.

"Oh, now I get it. Well, I'm sorry for that."

"No worries. So, did she tell you anything yesterday?"

"Not really. She just kept telling me that she's fine. That's all I could get out of her."

Troy frowned. That was all he got from her, too. "There's gotta be something else, Sharpay. Gabi's never been that weird. Okay, maybe a little, but not THAT weird."

"And that coming from you… But I know what you mean…" Sharpay thought about telling Troy about Gabriella's pregnancy. At least he wouldn't have to worry that much then. But then she had promised her best friend to keep her secret. So she decided to give him a little quiz. "Well, there's something on the way, but I'm not supposed to tell you, so why don't you ask her yourself?"

"Aaah, always that girly stuff kind of thing! Can't you just tell me what's going on?" Troy got angry again. He could speak in riddles, too, all the time, if he wanted, but that was just not the right moment for it.

"I'm sorry, I promised her. And I don't break promises."

Troy sighed again. Well, if Sharpay didn't want to tell him, he had to find out otherwise. "Okay then. I'll find out. But don't come crying to me when she tells me more than she told you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, I just wanna speak in strange, mysterious riddles, too. So, see you. And thanks nevertheless."

"No problem, Bolton. Bye."

Troy nodded to himself. "I've always been the brains. Sharpay may be the beauty, Chad may be the brawns, but my brains are unbeatable.", he mumbled, pulling over into the parking lot of his company.

This week, Troy's company had very much work to do, since it was transfer season. There wasn't even time for taking breaks, a thing that Gabriella welcomed since then, people wouldn't have enough time to talk about her and her mysterious private life.

But as much as work took Gabriella's mind off Eric, it didn't prevent that her pregnancy was going on very fast, and that even her belly started to grow. She knew that during the next few days, she had to tell Eric, because she didn't dare to imagine what he would do if he found out otherwise. Last night was proof enough that Eric was crazy.

This Monday, the office was crowded with different publishers and their marketing assistants,

and Troy felt as if he didn't even have the time to breath anymore. Yet he had still enough time to think about Gabriella. Even though Sharpay had told him that Gabriella seemed to be fine, he didn't quite believe it. And he was still bothered about "the thing" he should find out himself.

Without being able to think all the options through, Amber, one of Troy's assistants, rushed into his office and handed him a huge stack of papers.

"Hey boss, these need to be read and approved in one hour. Need to copy them and hand them out to the publishers." Amber explained and left the room before Troy could even answer, or make somebody else do the work he didn't want to do right now.

So Troy had no other choice than to read what had been given to him. Unfortunately, he couldn't concentrate for more than one word, because his mind went off to Gabriella again, wondering what was going on with her.

Suddenly, Gabriella stood in Troy's office and smiled at him. 'The sad smile she always manages when she sees me', Troy thought.

"Hey Bolton, I need the finances for the Transfer list, are they in here somewhere? Amber told me they might," she explained, her gaze searching for anything that looked like what she was searching for.

"Yeah, they might be on one of those shelves," Troy said, pointing out to some shelves that were situated right next to his desk.

"Thanks." Gabriella walked over to the shelves. After a few seconds she spotted the financial folders of CC. Since they were on the top of the shelf in front of which she was standing, she had to stretch to reach them. "Damn it, too small for that stupid shelf!" she cursed. When her wrists were revealed from her pullover, Troy couldn't believe his eyes.

Suddenly, Gabriella twirled around and smiled. "Bolton?" she asked, trying to get Troy's help.

Troy got up to help her, but he was still shocked by what he had seen around Gabriella's wrists. Dark red and blue bruises circled them. It almost looked like someone had squeezed them incredibly tight. Could Eric really be able to do a thing like that?

Troy went over to Gabriella, and before she knew what was going on, he rolled up her right sleeve and held her hurt wrist up. "How did this happen?" he asked, his eyes never leaving Gabriella's, almost forcing her to admit what he already had feared.

Gabriella pulled her wrist out of Troy's grip and looked down to the floor. "Nothing," she plainly answered, ashamed. How could she be so stupid to let her bruises show?

Troy breathed heavily. "Is he hurting you? Is that where the bruise on your lip came from?" Why didn't Gabriella just tell him the truth? Off all people in her life, he wanted her to see that he was the one she could trust completely.

Gabriella blushed. "He didn't mean to," she whispered, "And besides, it was my fault."

Troy sensed how scared she suddenly was. On the one hand, he felt so much sympathy and love for her that he couldn't imagine how any guy didn't know what he had in Gabriella, and on the other hand he sensed the rage coming up in him, making him want to hurt Eric for what he had done to that beautiful girl standing in front of him.

Gabriella quickly realized she had told Troy too much. She reached up to the shelf, managed to get the folder down and looked at him. "Troy," she said, "this looks worse than it is. Don't get too upset about it," she took his hand, stroking it gently with her thumb. "And promise me you won't interfere in my issues, ok?"

Troy forced himself to calm down. He pulled his hand out of Gabriella's, looking her in her wonderful brown eyes. "If anything like this ever happens again, I swear to God Eric's gonna pay.", he said, hatred swinging in his voice.

Gabriella took a step back, content that Troy didn't seem to want to do anything about it. "Nothing will ever happen again," she confirmed, "Eric didn't mean to do a thing like that."

Suddenly, Gabriella was not able to stand the situation anymore, and she turned on her heels, leaving Troy's office as fast as she could. She felt tears coming up and ran to the bathrooms, where she locked herself in one of the cabins and began to sob uncontrollably.

"Oh how I wish I could tell you," she sobbed, "How I wish you could help me out of this…"

But she was too scared to admit – Eric had made it only too clear last night what was going to happen if she told anyone what was going on between the two of them.


	7. Chapter 6

High school Musical!

Chapter 6 

Later that day, when Gabriella was on her way home, she recalled the situation she had had with Troy earlier that day. He knew way too much, without the need that she had to tell him. He knew by just looking at her what was going on. She needed to tell someone. She longed for love, respect and most of all, dignity. And if she couldn't tell Troy, then who could she tell?

Shortly before arriving at home, Gabriella came to the decision that she had to tell Troy the truth. She couldn't go on like this, inventing stupid excuses that nobody believed in, and being afraid every second that she was at home. Gabriella hit the breaks and manoeuvred her car to the side of the road, where she started searching for her cell phone and dialled Troy's number.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Gabriella bit her lip. Why didn't he answer?

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Please, answer" she mumbled. She really needed Troy right now, so why didn't he just pick up?

Beep. Beep. "Troy Bolton?"

Gabriella sighed with relief. "Troy, it's me." She said, sounding more serious than ususal.

"Gabriella? Is everyhting alright?"

At first, Gabriella hesitated to answer. "Um… honestly, no. I need to talk to you. Tell you something really important."

"Okay, do you wanna meet for dinner?"

Dinner. That meant at, like seven? After what had happened on the weekend, Gabriella didn't think she could afford lying to Eric again. What was she thinking? It was even impossible for her to talk to her friends with that monster she had to live with. But she had only this single choice, and she needed to take it now.

"Gabriella? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, Troy, still there. Let's say, seven? At 'Al Forno's'?"

"Sounds great. See you then."

Gabriella put down the receiver. Her heart started to beat faster, because even the mere thought of selling Eric out like this scared the hell out of her. Slowly, she drove back on the street again, making her way home.

When Gabriella parked her car in front of the house, she could see that Eric was already home. That didn't mean anything good. Her heart started to pound faster, and her steps towards the house became slower. When she was halfway to the front door, she saw it fling open, a furiated Eric standing in the doorway. The look in his eyes made her shiver.

"Come on in, you bitch!", he yelled, not caring about the two neighbour girls who were playing in the garden.

With each step Gabriella took now, her chest felt like exploding. He couldn't have found out about the baby, could he? Slowly, she walked up to him, walking past him in the house. Maybe if she tried to sound casual he would calm down a bit. "What's wrong?" she asked with the most innocent tone she could manage.

Slap. The first one hit her right into her left eye. Gabriella ducked down and sheltered her face with her hands. "What did I do?" she cried, afraid that he was going to go on.

Suddenly, he grabbed one of her wounded wrists, squeezing it with more power than the day before.

Gabriella was scared to death. Her heart was racing, her head was spinning, and tears streamed down her face.

Suddenly, Eric pulled out a sonogram picture and waved with it in front of her face. "I found this in your nightstand," he said, a brutal look on his face. Sending another hard slap on her face, he screamed. "I knew you had an affair! This brat can't be mine!"

Gabriella took a few steps back, a terrified look on her face. "No, Eric…"

"Don't you dare saying a word! I know you've been seeing another guy! Once a cheater, always a cheater!"

Gabriella cried uncontrollably. "Please, don't…" Another punch hit her chin, the next slap hit her right shoulder. She felt the adrenaline pouring through her veins, the fear of death becoming more vivid with every second that passed. She knew she had to do something, otherwise Eric would kill her and the baby.

Suddenly, Eric came running towards her, pushing her with her back onto the wall, taking hold of her two wrists. She was trapped.

Eric's face neared hers. Gabriella could feel his breath. In her mouth, she felt the disgusting taste of blood coming up. Her eye was all bloody and blurry, and she wasn't able to see with it anymore. How she hated him. She needed to act right now. This was her last chance.

Just when Eric was about to force himself on her, she kicked him where it hurts a man the most. Whining, Eric went down to the floor. Gabriella used the chance, and ran towards the door as fast as she could, hurrying towards her car to escape this nightmare.

When Gabriella was halfway to the car, Eric got up on his feet again and started to chase after her, his speed twice than hers.

Terrified, Gabriella looked back and almost fell over a branch that lay in the garden. Crying out as loud as she could, she ran for her life and made it for the driver's door. She was shaking uncontrollably and had trouble to put the key into the engine. When she looked out of the window, she saw Eric had almost reached the car.

Just in time, she was able to make the car start, and without looking back, she pulled out of her parking space with screaming tires, crying and bleeding. There was only one person she could turn to right now.


End file.
